#Egg also contributed to this- but yeah i just want all the thoughts™ i've had in 1 place

[bells-of-black-sunday]

Allow me to be cringe for one moment and dump all the things I have thought way too much about the Bracken and how it relates to the au me and Egg have that really isn't a joke anymore below-

Just going off of their bestiary, they are solitary hunters with a low population making them very difficult to study due to their aggression. Though they typically back off when confronted, if they feel cornered or are stared at for a long time they will attack. Though with their skin being the color of a red beet and it's textured like it, if I had to guess before being brought to whatever the fuck the moon bases are, the bracken were probably from heavily wooded planets and/or moons. The leaves they have on their back being used for intimidation, but like most animals who have big plumage like that: probably attracting mates as well.

Now due to their low population and solitary nature I'd imagine much like slugs and certain species of fish they are simultaneous hermaphrodites meaning they have both sex organs that function at the same time and if needed can self reproduce, but much like especially flat worms: the aspect of reproduction is a fight for dominance to ensure you don't have to put in the energy to raise and inseminate offspring, you just lay and fuck off. Having a low population and being solitary doesn't mean you're always going to find another member of your species to reproduce with and with them being heavily plant themed I'd figure it would keep going in their reproduction as well.

Instead of having sex organs like mammals have, they'd probably have something similar to seahorses where there's an ovipositor and a brooding pouch with the eggs being fertilized by the submissive party within the pouch itself. Though again tying back to how they're plant themed and are also solitary, unlike seahorses where the eggs are carried until they hatch, they're carried until there's a suitable spot to dig a hole and lay them before covering them and leaving. And this one is purely for my own amusement and was completely Egg's idea: their ovipositors look like shampoo flowers and create their own lube for relaxing the brooding pouch the same way you'd milk one of those flowers.

To signal the mating season they find a high place, bristle their leaves and emit a sweet smelling pheromone that can carry on the wind for miles hopefully to attract a mate. Like I've mentioned before, they fight for dominance typically being ended in one being pinned due to this it's not uncommon for bracken's to have scars from those fights. A flood of endorphins and other hormones prep the brooding pouch for offspring and melt away once the act is over, same with the one whose laying except the hormones prep them for that process instead making it an overall enjoyable exchange despite how violent it can be before such acts.

Now with reproduction and sexual anatomy out of the way onto other things: Bracken have a nesting instinct that's very unique to them as an enemy in game, they have favorite rooms and drag bodies there using the vents. This is the same in the wild too where they create dens either in the trees or underground and drag prey back into it to avoid other predators that may want to steal their kills. They have a very successful kill rate and much like mountain lions you don't typically see them until it's too late. They blend in quite well in their environment and even though they aren't very social you can typically tell what one is doing by the position of the leaves on it's back.

When they're hunting they're pulled taunt against their skin to try and seem as low profile as possible, when they're threatened the leaves raise to try and seem bigger than they actually are and they rattle them to make a bristling sound, and when they're relaxed their natural position is slightly raised and draping like a roosters tail. Though outside of mating season they keep miles long territories with their nests typically being at the center, any other bracken that wanders in is met with hostility and like most predators cannibalization isn't uncommon.

Their main form of hunting is with their hands and claws, typically reserving their teeth to hold onto prey and carry it back. Typically they're ambush predators, stalking or waiting for things they can kill to pass by before grabbing them and breaking their neck, some are active hunters chasing prey down and killing it that way probably with smaller prey as opposed to anything large. This would function the same way on research bases or abandoned moons where they're typically encountered. They stalk and hunt prey, but if intimidated will just book it at the player.

They also cannot mimic human speech, they just don't have the vocal cords for it. Though they can learn to understand language, they will never be able to mimic it back like a bird would. Instead their vocalizations are limited to low growls, clicks, purrs, and hisses. They can also bristle their leaves for certain sounds by rubbing them together much like a cricket would it's wings, but those are typically reserved for mating displays in the fight for dominance. I'd also imagine they're typically nocturnal.

Sticking to the shadows of night to stalk sleeping prey and hopefully avoid anything that might want to harm them. They aren't described as being apex predators and even though their bodies rapidly decompose, it wouldn't surprise me if they did have natural predators given things larger than the sand worm exist and also giants are the other entity that seems like they could at least share the same biome as them due to their plant-like appearances. Giant's don't even have to eat, they just shove things in their mouth for fun.

To tie it into my hehe ship: Tarhos used to be on a research base until the project was abandoned and everything there was left to die or wander. He typically hunts hoarding bugs and snare fleas, they're the easiest for him to get his claws on and aren't as aggressive as things like the thumper. Due to how long he was being studied, he learned quite a bit of English and a bit of other languages here and there from employees interacting with him trying to get him to do certain things to test his intelligence. He still absolutely hunts every employee that enters the base he was abandoned in, but when he hears one of their voices he pauses.

It sounds a lot like the main researcher that used to care for him- that was the one human he ever really liked. And he stalks him. Over and over, getting closer and closer until Haru catches on that this one isn't hostile towards him just other people. He knows if he yells at it, it goes away, but he doesn't mind it sticking around since it kills things for him. That is until all of his crewmates go missing and it's just him... and the shadowy figure that's dripping in blood. Tarhos and Haru leave the former research base now a duo and collect scrap for quota while Haru writes down all he's learning about the bracken in his ship that he named after a tv character knew knew.

This eventually earns him a promotion into the research division and he gets to study Tarhos in a more normal lab environment. He still sneaks him out to stare at the trees and stars, but they've grown quite a close bond. That doesn't mean Tarhos is completely void of his predatory nature. No. Whenever Haru turns his back on him he still has that prey drive even if he doesn't typically act on it beyond caressing his head and his neck in his hands. He knows how fragile Haru is, he's learned that the hard way with how easily his claws cut his skin or his grip bruises, but those events are rare now.

Haru sleeps in his nest and writes in his journal every day reporting on what new things he's learned. No other employee is allowed in the room without Tarhos being locked in his nesting area, but some do it anyway and they're met with a swift end and a mess that Haru has to clean up. Tarhos is possessive and protective of him, but still respects the scientist as his own thing that can do whatever he wants. Most of their days are spent running various tests and writing reports, Haru hasn't had a day off in years though there is downtime due to the nature of his work. Who knows if he even remembers home.

Tarhos really doesn't due to being caught when he was young and practically raised in a lab environment. Haru theorizes this is why he's only partial to certain humans and not anything else. Though it could also be the simple fact that he trained him out of being wary of being looked at by him, so he doesn't feel as cornered or vulnerable around him. Haru like describing him as a cat to other employees and Tarhos doesn't even know what a cat is nor does he really have a concept of most things he and other employees complain about.

It's a lot of learning for both of them and that's fine. At least they have each other's company.